The E-Myth Point of View: Understanding the Essence of Scaling Up a Business

The E-Myth Point of View is a perspective, a way of thinking about your life, and the interrelationship between the two. Since its development by Michael Gerber, The Point of View has been successfully put to the test in Scaling Up thousands of businesses. Literally hundreds of business development principles, practices and guidelines are encompassed within The Point of View.

The Core Principles of The E-Myth Point of View

1. The Principle of Life

A business is more than just a job–or it should be. Your business should be a way to get more of what you want out of your life. In order to do that you either have to create a business that frees you to do the things that give you the life you want, or you have to create a business within which you can achieve the satisfaction and sense of fulfillment you want.

In order to create a business that will serve your life, you must first discover your Primary Aim. Your Primary Aim is your innermost driving force. It’s the source of your energy, your commitment, your vision.

The first principle is Life because, more than anything else, The E-Myth Point of View is about life.

2. The Law of Objectivization

Michael Gerber said, “If you can see your business as separate from you -as a product of you- you will be able to reinvent it. And once you can do that, anything is possible! And that is what the Law of Objectivization is all about.”

Objectivization means to envision the object. Objectivization is when you place yourself outside of your creation. Or, more accurately, it is when you place your creation outside of you. When you are truly utilizing the Law of Objectivization, you are able to see clearly that your business isn’t you, your career isn’t you, and even – this is a tough one – your life isn’t you. Rather, your life – and everything in it – result from what you do – not who you are.

You are the director of the play called “Your Life.” You are also writer, you write the script. You are also the producer, you produce the play. In short, your life, your business, your actions, are separate from you – they are a product of you. You change the script, you change the play. You change your relationship with the world, you change your life. It’s really that simple !

You are the creator. Your creations are external from you. Your creations – whether they be your life, your career, your relationships, your business, whatever – are objective realities that you, as their creator, can produce to become whatever you wish to produce.

And that is what E-Myth is all about. It’s about taking a step outside of your business, and looking at it objectively. Looking at it as being completely separate from you – as being a piece of raw clay that you, as the creator, can shape into anything you want it to be! You, as the creator, need to go to work on your business, instead of just in it.

If you think about your business, your life, your relationships, in this manner, success will just happen for you!

3. The Principle of Working “On” Not “In” It

Michael Gerber calls this “The Fatal Assumption.” Most businesses are started by people who understand the technical work of their business, and therefore think they understand the business that does the technical work. They don’t. And that’s the reason 80% of small businesses don’t make it past their fifth year. The technical work of a business and the business that does that technical work are two totally different things.

The business as a whole is the product, not the things or the services the business produces. If you’re doing the technical work of the business, you don’t really have a business, you have a job.

The idea is to work ON your business, not IN it, and the basic approach is the Franchise Prototype. Take the view that you’re going to franchise your business, and you’re creating the model for 5,000 more just like it. You may or may not want to franchise your business now or in the future, but that isn’t the point. Think like you’re going to franchise it. Create a business that runs all by itself without you. Then two things will happen. You will be focused on creating a business, not just cranking out product or service. And you will have the freedom to work in the business or to be completely free of it. Your choice.

4. The Principle of Systemization

Your business isn’t simply a group of people doing work. It is, or it should be, a business system that is operated by people. The systems do the work, and people operate the systems. Your business should be systems dependent, not people dependent.

Systemic thinking will set you free.

With no systems in place, your business depends on you and on a few people who run things for you. If you or they disappear, even for a short time, your business is thrown into chaos. But if you have the right systems in place, the systems run your business, and nearly anyone can run the systems.

If you have the right systems in place, you can decide suddenly to take a three-month vacation, and your business won’t skip a beat. If you have the right systems in place, your key employees could suddenly quit, and you could replace them easily with no ill effect on your business. If performance isn’t up to snuff, rather than blame your people and argue with them, you simply adjust the system. If problems or opportunities arise, you respond by creating new systems or adjusting existing systems. With the right systems in place, you can work every day in your business–or not. It’s your choice, because it’s your system that is really running your business.

Systemic thinking is second nature to The E-Myth leader, and it’s the real secret behind Scaling Up a business that works.

5. The Principle of Business Development

“Building a business that works” is another way of saying “Scaling Up a business.” It’s a continuous cycle of Innovation, Quantification, Orchestration. Innovation is the creation of systems, or the improvement of existing systems. Quantification is putting umbers to the impact made by business systems, and tracking their performance over time. Orchestration is the elimination of discretion, or choice in your business systems – doing it the way it’s supposed to be done, predictably every tune -until innovation improves it.

The point is that Scaling Up a business never ends. the secret to realizing the leader’s vision. It’s the methodology for working on your business other than in it. the way you use your business to get more out of your life.

So that’s The E-Myth Point of View in a nutshell. When taken to heart and practiced everyday, the principles of The E-Myth Point of View will guide you toward achieving a new level of success and happiness in your business and your life! They will aid you on your journey through The E-Myth Mastery Program, as they are the core of all the work we do together in the program.

TED BONEL, SCALING UP COACH – STRATEGY & EXECUTION BUSINESS ADVISORS

Need assistance to help your team achieve your objectives to grow your business? Contact me at tedb@strategyandexecution.com.au to schedule a free 30-minute discovery meeting.

ABOUT STRATEGY & EXECUTION

We have been providing organisations and their leaders with facilitation support and executive education focused on strategy development and strategy execution for more than 20 years. Using business models such as Scaling Up, Exponential Organizations, E-Myth Mastery, Outthinker etc, we support organisations seeking to create or refine excellent strategies and execute them quickly and effectively.

Our expertise is based on a mixture of wide business experience, effective tools as well as a great deal of consulting and executive education. Our approach to working with clients is as unique as our specialist focus. We always seek to challenge our clients’ thinking – but equally are unafraid to roll up our sleeves and help execute the ideas we help generate. Learn more about us here or view our upcoming workshops and events.

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